Q: Even though Kentucky sits with a 1-5 record, the schedule has provided some pretty stout competition. Can you assess the Cats’ performance thus far?
A: UK’s performance has been as expected and as hoped. Cats fans are jaded by football. Relevancy is a hope more than an expectation. Competitiveness is thought of in the same light. The program might be the only program that has gotten progressively worse as the ‘Age of the SEC’ in college football has reached its eighth year.
The Cats have been competitive except for the Alabama game. Even then, the Tide were held scoreless through the first quarter. They have played 60 minutes of each game as hard as they can, and that’s a compliment to a good coaching staff.
All of this is to say that the SEC’s 14th best team is the SEC’s worst team. But it’s not to say that the Cats won’t beat a team they aren’t supposed to. That could come as soon as Thursday night.
Q: First-year head coach Mark Stoops has made an immediate impact in Lexington since day one. What are some things he has done to revamp the defense and rebuild the program?
A: Flashback to last year, when the Bulldogs visited Lexington and 29,927 people watched Mississippi State and UK go through the motions in that 27-14 ugly mess of a win for the Maroon and White. 
Now, the mentality of the program is much different. Players are playing harder than last year. The games are closer. The coaches are coaching with more passion and better schemes. The recruiting is of better talent. Some of the best players on the field for the Cats are freshmen. Fans are coming out in larger volumes for the first time in several years. 
The future is bright in terms of getting out of the basement in the SEC. Once that step in the rebuild is accomplished, it will be more of a question of if the Cats go on the same path as South Carolina, or the way of Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, where naturally you wonder if James Franklin and Dan Mullen have accomplished about as much as they can at their respected schools.
Q: Can you assess the two quarterbacks Kentucky utilizes and what differences do each bring to the position?
A: Maxwell Smith and Jalen Whitlow are similar in only that they are both sophomore quarterbacks at UK. The similarities end there. 
Smith has lost some strength in his throwing arm, which has likely cost him the starting job because he is more accurate than Whitlow. Smith played well last year up to his shoulder injury against Western Kentucky but hasn’t regained the strength needed to move the ball through the air against SEC defenses.
Whitlow has a few things going for him in the eyes of the coaching staff. First, up to his ankle injury against Alabama, Whitlow has been durable while at UK, starting the final eight games of last year and sharing time with Smith in September. The coaches also believe that Whitlow gives UK’s offense more of a big-play potential with his ability to run the ball. UK has not been too exceptional protecting the quarterback, so Whitlow’s ability to escape trouble and limit bad plays is as good of a reason to play him as his tendency to break off a long run or hit a receiver down the field.
Personally, I see that more times than not, UK’s offense is one-dimensional with Whitlow. But the coaches like making opposing defenses prepare for the spread option and the pistol with the threat of the quarterback running the football. It’s something you see more and more of every year in college football. Does it work? Alabama does not run it, but Ohio State and Oregon do. Florida State does not run it, but Clemson does.  The Baltimore Ravens do not run it, but the San Francisco 49ers do.
Q: Who are offensive threats MSU fans should keep on eye on Thursday night?
A: Mississippi State fans know about as much as the UK fans do in terms of who will play quarterback on Thursday. Maxwell Smith is likely, but the coaching staff likes themselves a hankering of Jalen Whitlow.
The most dangerous skill players are freshmen. Running back Jojo Kemp, the Cats leading rusher, is due for a breakout game against the second half of UK’s schedule. Mississippi State allows 4.4 yards per rush on the year but allowed 5.7 yard per rush against Bowling Green 10 days ago. If I was Misssissippi State, I’d be concerned with Kemp, who has some speed once in space.
Q: Defensively, who are some key players MSU fans should take note of?
A: Senior linebacker Avery Williamson will be around the ball and make several tackles, as he has done for the past two and a half seasons at UK. He might be the only 2014 NFL Draft prospect on the Cats’ roster. 
UK’s defensive line is the most talented group on the roster, as junior defensive ends Bud Dupree and Za’Darius Smith rush off the edge with quickness and senior defensive tackles Donte Rumph and Miser Cobble use over 600 pounds to fill blockers and space in the middle. With the way Mississippi State likes to run the football, the front seven will have to play well for UK if Mark Stoops wants his first conference victory as a head coach.
Q: Alright, prediction time. Who do you see coming out on top?
A: UK is as healthy as it has been in several weeks and will be close to full strength. With games at home against Missouri and Tennessee and road contests against Georgia and Vanderbilt upcoming, the players and coaches have to recognize Thursday’s game as the best opportunity to win while showcasing the progress of the program under 10 months of Mark Stoops’s control.
If UK’s attitude is similar to that, I’d expect a good performance. But this is also a young team with freshmen gaining playing time at running back, wide receiver, defensive end and in the secondary. The youth and questions at quarterback could yield an ugly game similar to last year’s game on Thursday or a well-played game that ends in victory for the visitors.
I think Mississippi State wins, but if LaDarius Perkins does not approach 20 carries on Thursday and Jalen Whitlow plays, all bets are off.
Final Score- Mississippi State 27, UK 17.